HALIFAX — While the majority Liberal government picked up two seats in byelections in Cape Breton on Tuesday, the third-place NDP won a tightly contested race in Dartmouth.

Rissesco isn't conceding the election, however. The official count doesn't happen until Thursday, and he told reporters late Tuesday that he wants to be "100 per cent" positive before acknowledging defeat.

Mancini, who is originally from Glace Bay, was a legal aid lawyer in Sydney. She's now retired.

Her husband, Peter Mancini, served as a one-term NDP MP for Sydney-Victoria from 1997 to 2000.

The Dartmouth South seat has been vacant since the death of Liberal member Allan Rowe in March.

The Liberals now hold 34 of the legislature's 51 seats.

The Progressive Conservatives have 10 seats while the NDP hold six and the remaining seat belongs to independent member Chuck Porter.